Iconic Photos

Three years, eight months and six days after the United States entered World War II, the fighting official ended. President Truman’s announcement–at seven p.m. EST on August 14, 1945–that Japan had surrendered started a party that lasted for days. One GI called V-J Day “the kissingest day in history,” politely describing the first act of what would soon become the baby boom.

LIFE Magazine: U.S. Servicemen and servicewomen, Paris, August 15, 1945.